Accompanying the armies of Texas volunteers that jumped in to aid in rescue and recovery efforts following the state’s July 4 floods, local members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have played an “integral part” of the ongoing recovery operations, the church reported Tuesday.
Their service has included participating in search and rescue efforts, helping coordinate volunteers and restoring lost items to their owners.
“I have a deep love for the Savior and I know that he came to show us how to live,” said Audra Miller, a Latter-day Saint in Boerne, Texas, who has helped organize volunteer efforts.
“Everything that we’re taught helps us (with) things like this, to be able to go out and help others.”
A ‘unique’ response
The narrow, but lengthy 125-mile path of destruction, created by the flash flooding along the Guadalupe River, called for a “unique” response approach, according to the church’s report.
Rather than being able to quickly mobilize large groups of volunteers to assist in flood cleanup, the church followed authorities’ orders to hold those efforts until search operations for missing persons concluded.
This prompted local church members to step up and find ways to serve their communities, while other church members employed in government and emergency response positions helped coordinate real-time efforts and keep local church leaders informed.
“There were four girls (who) had nothing on but their nightgowns,” said Clint Johnson, a Latter-day Saint who works for the San Antonio Fire Department.
Johnson was among the hundreds of first responders who helped rescue nearly 900 people from the deadly floods. Having watched these girls walk across a field, soaking wet and covered in mud, Johnson recalled feeling the strong impression “that these people need a lot of help.”
“You could just see in their faces the hurt, the pain. Some were telling stories of loss, and many were telling stories of survival,” he said.
Moved by a similar sense of need, members in the La Cantera Texas Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ have contributed approximately 4,000 volunteer hours of service to the community. They have assisted in tasks such as emergency rescue; heavy machinery support; volunteer coordination; medical response; donation gathering and sorting; artifact recovery; animal shelter assistance; wellness checks; and debris, mucking and drywall removal.
Recognizing members’ volunteer efforts, La Cantera Stake President J. Michael Villarreal said: “This recovery is far from over. But the foundation laid by our members — one of humility, hard work and harmony with local partners — positions the Church as a trusted, helpful presence for the months of healing and rebuilding ahead.”
Moreover, many members who have dedicated their time to serve have expressed they’ve seen miracles through their volunteer work.
For instance, Latter-day Saint Megan Wilson, a mother of four, said she “couldn’t stand and not be doing anything.” So she “dropped to (her) knees” and prayed to find a way she could help.
She quickly learned her neighbor had created a Facebook page which, gaining traction, was helping people search for and recover lost belongings. So she joined.
“There’s a whole team of women who are washing (the lost items) and very gently taking care of them and then doing the sacred work of returning these items to some of the flood victims,” she said. “We’ve seen many, many miracles over the past couple of weeks.”
Some of these miracles, she explained, have included seeing people get their copies of the Bible back — waterlogged, but intact.
Collaborating with the American Red Cross
In addition to the service that members in local church congregations have rendered, the Church of Jesus Christ is also collaborating with the American Red Cross to help pay for temporary housing for displaced homeowners impacted by the floods.
Bethany Patterson, American Red Cross public affairs manager, said the church’s support has given them “extra hands and feet” in their response, especially as they’ve started “shifting into the long-term response” phase.
She said, “We will be here for the long term. We are here for people, and it’s thanks to support from partners like you, so thank you.”
Finding hope amid tragedy
Though filled with hope through their service, Latter-day Saints have not gone unmarred by the grief that has accompanied the floods which swept the region and killed more than 135 people.
In fact, the death of 91-year-old Sally Graves — a Latter-day Saint from Hunt in Texas Hill Country — was one of the flood’s earliest recorded deaths.
According to a press release, her home — located about a block from the Guadalupe River — flooded rapidly as floodwaters rose on July 4.
Awakened by a phone call from her long-time friend and neighbor Terry Hansen, and assisted by her son, Graves fled the rising floodwaters by climbing through her bedroom window. She and her son held tight to a fence and nearby tree for a few hours. And there, in her son’s embrace, Graves quietly passed away.
Now, two weeks since Graves’ funeral on July 12, her family is moving forward with faith and gratitude for the miracles they’ve seen.
“I have felt my mom around me for three weeks, all day and every day,” said Graves’ daughter, Catherine Graves. She explained that though her family has always been close, the tragedy has unified them even more, which is “everything (her late mother) would have wanted.”
On Sunday, July 27, Catherine Graves gathered with other Latter-day Saints in Kerrville for a worship service.
There, they listened to the words of Kerrville Ward Bishop Matthew Huff who said: “One of the most profound truths that we learn in this life is that we can both feel heartache and hope at the same time.
“In Gethsemane the Savior’s joy was not in the absence of pain, but in the presence of purpose. He saw us as brothers and sisters, redeemed.”
